A New (Kind Of Dorky Looking) Species Of Monkey Has Been Discovered

Scientists are still discovering new species all the time, but usually they’re boring, non-glamorous creatures — a new fungus, or beetle that looks only slightly different from a hundred other beetles. So, discovering a new monkey? That’s big news.

The lesula or as it’s now known scientifically, Cercopithecus lomamiensis, is the first new primate species to be discovered in Africa in nearly 30-years. These guys live in a very small, relatively isolated part of The Democratic Republic of Congo, explaining why they’ve evaded scientists for so long. Of course local Africans have known about the lesula forever, but they never gave it a Latin name, so it doesn’t count I guess.

Anywho, the frankly somewhat goober-ish looking guy to the right is a lesula. Poor guy. That’s the look of a monkey that’s not happy the white people have finally found him.